CVE-2023-28527
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIBM Informix Dynamic Server 12.10 and 14.10 cdr is vulnerable to a heap buffer overflow, caused by improper bounds checking which could allow a local user to cause a segmentation fault. IBM X-Force ID: 251206.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceIBM Informix Dynamic Server versions 12.10 and 14.10 contain a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the cdr (Change Data Replication) component, caused by improper bounds checking. This allows a local authenticated user to trigger a segmentation fault, potentially leading to denial of service or possibly arbitrary code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 12.10= 14.10all versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Confirm IBM Informix installationLocate the Informix installation directory (typically $INFORMIXDIR) and verify the presence of Informix binaries such as oninit, onstat, or cdr. Check common paths like /opt/IBM/informix or /usr/informix.Affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server is installed on the system
-
Identify the installed Informix versionRun 'onstat -' or 'oninit -version' from the Informix bin directory to retrieve the exact version number. Compare the output to the affected versions 12.10 and 14.10.Affected if The installed version is 12.10.x or 14.10.x (exact match to 12.10 or 14.10)
-
Determine if cdr (Change Data Replication) is configuredCheck for cdr-related processes running (ps -ef | grep cdr), look for cdr configuration files in $INFORMIXDIR/etc or $INFORMIXDIR/etc/cdr, and query the Informix registry or syscdr tables if accessible.Affected if cdr component is enabled, configured, or running on the Informix server
-
Verify local authentication is availableReview Informix user authentication settings in $INFORMIXDIR/etc/sqlhosts and check for local OS authentication or Informix-specific users. Confirm that local user access to the cdr utility is possible.Affected if Local authenticated users can access the cdr utility or execute Informix commands locally
A system is affected if it runs IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 12.10 or 14.10 with the cdr component enabled and local user authentication is permitted.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply IBM Informix patches as they become available. Restrict local access to the cdr utility and follow least-privilege principles to limit exposure to authenticated local users.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28527 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-28527 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data